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On May 5 — Children’s Day and the last day of the long holiday weekend — returning traffic has clogged highways nationwide, producing heavy congestion mainly on northbound routes heading to Seoul.
According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, as of 10 a.m., based on tollgate departures, estimated driving times from major cities to Seoul were significantly longer than usual.
Estimated travel times for major northbound routes are: Busan–Seoul 5 hours 40 minutes; Ulsan–Seoul 5 hours 20 minutes; Daegu–Seoul 4 hours 40 minutes; Gwangju–Seoul 3 hours 20 minutes; Gangneung–Seoul 2 hours 40 minutes; Daejeon–Seoul 1 hour 40 minutes.
By contrast, traffic heading out of the capital (southbound) was mostly smooth. At the same time, estimated travel times from Seoul to each city are: Busan 4 hours 40 minutes; Gwangju 3 hours 50 minutes; Gangneung 3 hours 20 minutes; Daejeon 1 hour 50 minutes.
The Korea Expressway Corporation projected about 5.17 million vehicles would use highways nationwide that day. It expected roughly 390,000 vehicles to leave the Seoul metropolitan area for the provinces, while about 410,000 would return to the capital region.
Northbound congestion began around 9–10 a.m. A Korea Expressway Corporation official said congestion was expected to peak between 5 and 6 p.m. and not ease until after 8–9 p.m. The official warned that the Yeongdong and Seoul–Yangyang Expressways, popular with holiday travelers, were likely to see especially heavy delays.
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